Mom's the word: Angela Ward cried tears of joy when son Lewis broke CFL record

Ottawa Redblacks kicker Lewis Ward celebrates with Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris during second half CFL football game action against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Hamilton, Ont. on Saturday, July 28, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power ORG XMIT: pmp119

Angela Ward figures she knows more than a bit about her son, Canadian Football League record-setting kicker Lewis Ward of the Ottawa Redblacks.

After all, she laughs, she was there in the beginning, changing his diapers.

So here’s what she has to say about her kid with the golden toe, the 5-7-listed — that may be a bit of a stretch — giant of a kicker who goes into Friday’s home game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with 43 consecutive made field goals.

“He started playing soccer when he was four or five,” Angela said. “He always wanted to be a goalkeeper, but, because he’s shorter, it was quite hard for him.”

Lewis’ great-grandfather Samuel Cookson had Premiership tryouts as a boy, but the Second World War interrupted that.

The family moved from England to Switzerland, where Lewis became an excellent snowboarder. The next move was to Kingston, where Lewis’ father, John, a research chemist, accepted a job in 2005. Lewis played soccer for the Kingston Clippers. Later, he went to Bayridge Secondary School, where, after plenty of encouragement from friends, he began to play football with the Blazers. He was a kicker and a receiver.

“He was on the soccer and basketball teams,” Angela said. “His friends said to him, ‘Come out for the football team, you’ll be really good.’ He did, he played and [fell in love with football]. When he told us he was going to play, we were like, ‘What is that? What do you need? What is football?’ We went to his games. I still probably don’t know half the rules.”

An Ottawa Gee-Gees recruit, he quickly proved himself as all-star kicker at the university level. The 89 field goals he kicked in his U Sports career rank second all-time to the University of Calgary’s Johnny Mark. Not selected by any CFL club in his draft year, he landed with the Redblacks in training camp this season and won a job over veteran CFLer Sergio Castillo.

What has happened since has been phenomenal, maybe a bit magical. Ward has made 46 of 47 field goal attempts, his only miss came in the Redblacks’ regular season opener in late June. Two weeks ago, he booted a 40-yard field goal late in the third quarter of a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for his 40th in a row, breaking the regular season record of 39 set by Calgary Stampeders’ Rene Paredes over the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

“When that ball went through, then there were fireworks … it was almost a standing ovation. It was unreal for a kicker to get that much attention,” Angela said. “I cried. I was jumping up and down. I couldn’t believe it. The press, the stress during the week … but if he hadn’t made it, it wouldn’t have made a difference because he’s done so fantastic, really. He’s worked so hard. It’s not just him, it’s his teammates. They’ve gotten them there. He appreciates that every day. The three of them [with punter Richie Leone and long snapper Louis-Philippe Bourassa], it’s been like poetry in motion.

“The amount of effort and work he puts into everything, into his daily life, it doesn’t surprise me. He’s the type of person, if he has a goal he does everything he can to make it. He’s agile, he’s got almost a gymnastic type of agility. You can see how far he can get his leg up and his hips … With his goalkeeping, he was small, but he could jump, he could hit the crossbar.”

Ward’s family, friends and RNation couldn’t be happier and excited for the 26-year-old.

“His grandparents in England, everybody there, a lot of them don’t understand the game, but they’re following him,” Angela said. “We try and send them all the links [to stories].”

Ward FaceTimes grandfather Terry Cookson, Angela’s dad, who has Lewis’ jersey and Redblacks T-shirts and says that if Ottawa earns a spot in the Nov. 25 Grey Cup game in Edmonton, he’s flying over to see it.

“When he was a receiver, we thought about him getting hit,” she said. “But he does a lot of weights, he’s fairly muscular and heavy. I call [other special teams players] his bodyguards. They’re his protectors.”

What the son of Angela and John has done is superb — he should be a lock for CFL post-season awards as Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. He will also get some consideration for the Top Canadian award, too, although the competition will be stiff, even on his own team.

“We have to pinch ourselves every day. It’s surreal,” Angela said. “People come up to him in the streets. Even at my work, they know who he is.

“When he was there at first, he’d go into the dressing room … he was a little guy, a young guy. As he gets better and better, the guys in the change room are coming up to him. He was so thrilled when [offensive lineman] Jon Gott came up to him and said to him, ‘You know what? You’re my favourite person.’”

Gott, all 6-3 and 297 pounds of him, has taken a liking to the rookie, making him part of a Breakfast Club that includes Gott, Leone and defensive lineman/special teamer Nigel Romick.

“We just sit at the table here and talk about life,” Gott said. “Lewis is a great guy, he’s humble … he’s just awesome. He just comes in, does his work and has a great attitude. You’ve got to love him. He’s clutch.

“I don’t like kickers who want the media attention. There are a few in the league. Lewis, I met him in the off-season and we hit it off. He comes in, works hard, wants to do whatever he can do for the team. You’ve got to root for a guy like that. He’s a big man, he’s got a big heart.”

The last word here goes to Ward himself. He has shown he belongs on the big stage.

“I don’t think anybody in the family could have predicted me going this route,” he said. “But it’s what I fell in love with, it’s what I enjoy. I go in and expect to make every kick. I expect to be 100 per cent in a game.”